Topping

farmernewbie wrote: »

Lads, need to get a contractor to top a few acres for me. How much an acre should it be roughly?

IH784man wrote: »

I've a few questions not good enough for its own topic

I've a field of 1.5 acres rented,the grass has gone long and seedy and there are patches of dockins,thistles and rushes in it too,it's a bit wet in patches

I'd like to get it topped but,will the grass and stuff die off over the winter,or will I get it topped before I come of it in September.

Also,is it worth spreading fertiliser on it before i come of it,would I get a nice bit of grass for my ewes and lambs by spring?Then spray the rushes and thistles and all in the spring again.

Sorry if it's a but confusing,I'm no good at sorting out my grass.

Edit,is it alright to top away at it or would I be better asking him.

I need a topper to keep ragwort and buttercups under control

pull ragwort.don’t top it as it will only help spread

I can pm his number if you like

Topped ragwort grows back, you will change it from a biennial to a perennial.

it won’t. I am that soldier. Spray at the right stage or pull.

The same plants will continue to grow on or else regrow next year when topping. You won’t reduce the number of them in the field. Best case all you will do is stop them seeding new plants.

No idea with sheep but assume same. If the root lives the plant survives to next year.

Ragwort Is poisonous though..certainly to horses..apparently it tastes bitter on the stem but once cut or topped it dries out and becomes more palatable. That is another reason to pull it as opposed to topping it....sheep do eat it in the early stages and it doesn't seem to harm them.maybe they would need to eat large quantities

sheep will search out ragwort early in the year and graze right down to the stub. They are a horrible tramp of an animal but they are great for thickening a sward and keeping it clean. I haven’t tipped here in a few years between the sheep(only a few) and using a paddock system and spot spraying everywhere stays clean. Most people allow no cost on tipping but between time, diesel and a machine that lies in your way for most of the year I see it as non profitable.
Now I just realised as I type this is;I need to stop reading bass reeves posts on costs.

Sheep eat them to the butt early in the life cycle, sheep wouldn't eat a plant big enough to be topped. If they did eat plants at that stage, it would likely kill them, just like cattle.

If you have a large ragwort infestation, you likely have other issues that need sorting. Topping land that is regularly overgrazed or poached will do nothing to reduce the amount of ragwort. Improving grass sward management, combined with regular topping, may help, but you need the grass to outcompete the ragwort. You will still likely need some spot treating with pulling and/or some spraying.

With all that being said, the topping might be on hold for quite a while looking at the long term forecasts.

we have a neighbor here that grows ragworth like oil seed rape crops. As a result we would never be free from them. When we came here in the early 70’s this place was as bad.

We’re down to maintenance now thank god but if it were ignored for long it would get out of control quickly. Same for rushes and gorse, control rather than elimination as some cover helps wildlife.